Meru senatorial aspirant Mugambi Imanyara has pledged to push for the write-off of Sh34 billion owed by tea factories within 18 months if elected, as he blamed the mounting debts and the disputed 0.8 per cent tea levy.
Imanyara said Miciimikuru recorded the lowest bonus in the Mt Kenya region, paying farmers Sh20 per kilogramme, which he attributed to the 0.8 per cent tea levy, fertiliser costs and debts owed by tea factories.
He claimed tea factories across the country had accumulated loans amounting to Sh34 billion, with Miciimikuru accounting for Sh900 million, and challenged the President to extend debt relief to the tea sector, as he had done for sugar factories in western Kenya.
“If he could write off the debts, Miciimikuru farmers could get a good bonus of more than Sh50,” he said.
Imanyara promised that if elected senator in the August 2027 General Election, alongside former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi as governor, he would push for the tea factories’ debts to be written off within one and a half years.
Lawyer Marius Maranya, who recently resigned from Governor Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia’s Cabinet, read a court order to residents, saying the court had certified the matter as extremely urgent and directed the respondents to reply to the petition within seven days.
Maranya said the court had issued conservatory orders restraining the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, the Attorney General and other relevant officials from collecting the levy pending the hearing and determination of the case.
He said the matter would come up on November 9 for further directions.
Maranya said the Tea Board of Kenya had suspended collection of the levy after being served with the court order, but warned that the petitioners would continue pursuing its permanent removal.
Speaking to residents at Kiolo in the Miciimikuru area, Imanyara said farmers could have received as much as Sh47 per kilogramme if the deductions and financial burdens affecting the sector had been addressed.
Imanyara accused Kathuri of allowing the tea levy to pass during his tenure as Senate Speaker, arguing that the deduction had worsened the financial position of tea factories and reduced farmers’ earnings.
The renowned Lawyer warned farmers that re-electing the current leadership would leave them exposed to continued low bonuses.
The senatorial aspirant also said he and other petitioners had moved to court seeking the complete removal of the 0.8 per cent tea levy, adding that they had petitioned the Tea Board of Kenya, the Attorney General and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.
The aspirant further accused Kathuri of retreating from the tea levy dispute and suggested that the senator was considering shifting his political ambitions to avoid a contest with him.
Kathuri has previously defended his record on tea reforms, saying he was among the leaders who championed changes in the sector and helped dismantle the old director system. He has also dismissed criticism of his role in the tea reforms as misleading.
In a separate address, Meru Woman Representative aspirant Nkirote Biriri appealed to residents to give her another chance, saying she was grateful for the support she received in the last General Election despite falling short of victory.
“You overwhelmingly voted for me last General Election, but my votes were not enough. I am grateful and plead with you once more to vote for me,” she said.
